Indians notes: Perez on, Jimenez off roster for wild-card game

By
Jim Ingraham, The Morning Journal & The News-Herald

Thursday, October 3, 2013

The Indians’ 25-man roster for Wednesday’s wild-card game included what seemed to be a couple of head-scratchers: Ubaldo Jimenez, the Indians’ best pitcher in September, was not on the roster, while Chris Perez, the team’s worst pitcher in September, was.
The decision on Jimenez was easily explainable. He pitched Sunday, in the Indians’ last game of the regular season in Minnesota, and wasn’t going to pitch at all, in any situation, in Wednesday’s game.
Perez is a different story. The deposed Tribe closer had a 9.64 ERA in September, and told Manager Terry Francona last weekend in Minnesota that he didn’t want to hurt the team’s chances of winning.
Given the high stakes of Wednesday’s game — win or go home — it was a surprise that Francona still wanted Perez on the roster for that game.
Asked about the decision to have Perez on the roster, Francona said, “I realize the struggles he’s had. I also saw a guy who wants to contribute. He wanted to be on a winner so bad. I think maybe that day when everything culminated in Minnesota, maybe I didn’t take enough time to explain it correctly (to the media), which I feel bad about because he wasn’t bailing. He saw a team that had a chance to win and he was recognizing that and he said, ‘I’ll do anything. I’ll pitch in the fifth or the sixth innings’.”
It seems likely that Francona also chose to have Perez on the roster for the wildcard game out of a sense of loyalty to a pitcher who has achieved a lot for the Indians over the last four years.
“You try to have a loyalty to everybody,” Francona said. “You want every player on the team to know you care about them. At the same time, you make decisions that are best for the team. And while you’re doing that you try to make sure players understand you care about them. But you make decisions to win.”Who’s on third?
Right-handed hitting Mike Aviles started at third base for the Indians in the last four games of the regular season and in six of the last seven games overall.
Wednesday night vs. Tampa Bay right-hander Alex Cobb, Francona started left-handed hitting Lonnie Chisenhall at third base. Aviles was 0-for-7 with two strikeouts in his career vs. Cobb. Chisenhall was 1-for-3.
“Lonnie has a little bit of history (vs. Cobb),” Francona said before the game, “and the way they (Tampa Bay) match up, if they bring in a left-hander (later in the game), we’ve got Aviles.”
Aviles this year hit .269 vs. right-handed pitchers, Chisenhall hit .241 vs. right-handers.Roster roundup
The Indians’ roster for Wednesday’s game also included outfielder Matt Carson and 21-year-old infielder Jose Ramirez. Neither player played a game for the Indians until September.
“Carson was a big part of what we were doing in September. He pinch ran, was a defensive replacement in right field, and can play all three outfield positions,” Francona said. “Ramirez, same thing. Since the day he got here he’s looked like he belongs, and he can change the game with his speed.”
Among those who were not included on the Indians’ roster for Wednesday’s game were Zach McAllister, Carlos Carrasco, Josh Tomlin, and CC Lee.
The roster included 11 pitchers, 2 catchers, 7 infielders (counting DH Jason Giambi) and five outfielders.Wild-card strategy
Tampa Bay Manager Joe Maddon said his goal going into Wednesday’s game was to not make that big of a deal about the magnitude of the game.
“I want everything to feel the same for the players,” Maddon said. “We’ve preached that all year. March 15 should feel like April 15 or June 15.”
Maddon said there is one thing managers and teams in the postseason need to guard against.
“The tendency is you feel like you have to be smarter in the postseason when actually the opposite is true,” he said. “You need to keep it simple.”Crowdy
In the National League wildcard game between the Reds and Pirates on Tuesday the Pittsburgh crowd was loud and seemingly disruptive to the Reds. Maddon said prior to Wednesday’s game that he expected the same kind of noise from the Indians fans.
“We like playing in front of big crowds,” he said. “Playing in the AL East is a wonderful training ground for the postseason.”Swishful thinking
Francona said the signing of free agent Nick Swisher was one of the key moves made by the Indians last winter. “We put on a full court press for Swish. We wanted him bad. That was a big deal for us,” Francona said. “His personality is the same every day. He never gets tired. I don’t know how he does it.”Roster move
The Indians Wednesday claimed right-handed pitcher Tyler Cloyd off waivers from the Phillies and added him to their 40-man roster. Cloyd is not eligible for postseason play. To make room on the roster for Cloyd the Indians designated for assignment pitcher Clay Rapada.
Cloyd, 25, split the 2013 season between Class AAA Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia. In 19 starts at Lehigh Valley he was 5-9 with a 4.71 ERA. In 13 appearances, 11 starts, for the Phillies he was 2-7 with a 6.56 ERA.
Last year Cloyd was the International League Pitcher of the Year, going 12-1 with a 2.35 ERA at Lehigh Valley, and a combined 15-1 with a 2.26 ERA between Lehigh Valley and Class AA Reading.